The present invention relates to dispensing devices for collapsible, tubular containers, and, more particularly, to an improved manually operated tube press member for such devices.
The manufacturers of dispensing devices for tubular containers have long been confronted with the difficulty of manufacturing a dispenser which will accommodate a large variety of container sizes as well as the problem of providing a dispensing operation that can be easily controlled to dispense a broad range of quantities of material from a collapsible tube. In view of the fact that a large number of commercial products are presently stored in tubular containers for sale and use by the consumer, it has become particularly desirable to provide flexibility in the amount of material that can be dispensed from such devices so that the consumer market for a single type of dispensing device can be broadened to accommodate a wider range of products.
By way of example, presently, not only are dental creams and shaving creams packaged in collapsible tubes, but also, a number of pharmaceutical products, shampoos, and cleansing detergents are now available in such tubular containers. In addition, a number of products of the foregoing types are packaged in a variety of concentrations of ingredients for the purpose of varying their properties. Thus, where members of a single family have purchased a product at a given concentration, individual members of the family will utilize the product in a corresponding variety of quantities for their individual applications. This is particularly important in the use of body cleansing creams and hair dye solutions.
Previously, dispensing devices for tubular containers were primarily concerned with dental cream or toothpaste containers which, therefore, were intended to dispense only small quantities of paste from a fairly standardized size of container. Thus, such dispensing devices, in general, could only be used for toothpaste tubes. As a result, the market for such devices was severely limited.
In the known devices in this field, in order to provide the capability of dispensing material both completely from a collapsible tube in one operation as well as in small increments, complicated tube contacting and manipulating devices have been employed so that the manufacturing expense has been increased, and, correspondingly, the commercial acceptance of such devices has been limited. Also, often, since these types of devices are subject to abuse such as by the children in a family, the tube manipulating mechanisms have been short-lived particularly where rack and gear arrangements or threaded member advancing arrangements have been employed.
Where cleaning of the dispensing device becomes necessary with the prior art devices, it has been difficult to disassemble the element particularly where complicated tube manipulating mechanisms are employed. The cleaning operation can be particularly time consuming and troublesome where a defective tube is installed in the dispensing device and breakage of the tube occurs during the dispensing operation.
In many of the prior art devices, a cylindrical roller or ball has been employed to carry out the tube squeezing operation. Such arrangements have been useful where the material from which the tubular container is constructed is relatively stiff and not subject to resilient reaction when subjected to pressure. However, many types of cosmetic products as well as other commodities are now packaged in containers of relatively flexible or flowable material so that where a roller or ball member is employed, which is movable along a cylindrical housing to effect dispensing, such tubular containers exhibit a tendency to flow around the roller or ball element resulting in jamming of the element in the housing.
Prior art references relating to the field of the present invention are as follows:
______________________________________ U.S. Patents Issue Dates ______________________________________ 1,311,354 July 9, 1919 1,352,425 September 14, 1920 1,353,747 September 21, 1920 3,326,419 June 20, 1967 ______________________________________
The dispensing device of the present invention avoids the foregoing and other drawbacks found in the prior art and provides a dispensing device for tubular containers of the collapsible type which can be very inexpensively constructed and yet will be very durable in use. Also, the device of the present invention can be readily disassembled for cleaning as well as for replacement of an expended tubular container.
In one embodiment, the device of the present invention includes a retaining means in the form of a housing which is shaped to hold a tubular container in a predetermined orientation therein. The housing has a wall portion provided with a slot which extends along the length of the housing. Disposed on the interior of the housing is a press member in the form of a solid block of material such as plastic, wood or the like which is formed with a leading edge, a base portion and a smooth gradually sloping surface which extends between the leading edge and base portion. An elongated handle is attached to the topside of the press member above the base portion with the handle extending upwardly through the slot in the wall of the housing. The handle is located toward the rear portion of the press member remote from its leading edge so that pivoting of the handle by an individual will result in a rocking motion of the press member on the curved surface of the member.
The upper wall of the housing of the dispensing device of the present invention is provided with guide means for the press member in the form of shoulders located on opposite sides of the housing. The upper surface of the press member is flat to cooperate with the shoulders formed on the upper wall of the housing. The shoulders of the housing extend in and define a plane so that when an individual pulls on the handle of the press member, the press member will move along a line parallel to the plane defined by the shoulders of the housing. With a tubular container located in the housing, when the press member is moved along the housing to bring the curved surface of the press member into contact with the tube, dispensing of the material from the tube is initiated by simply pivoting the handle to squeeze the tube between the press member and the bottom wall of the housing.
The dispensing device of the present invention can be very economically manufactured in view of the fact that there is only one moving part which also renders it capable of very simple operation by even very young children. Moreover, disassembly of the housing and press member can be very quickly effected to permit cleaning of the elements and substitution of a new tubular container. Moreover, the device of the present invention can be constructed to accommodate a great variety of tube sizes in view of the fact that the press member can effectively operate on very small tubes just as well as on tubes of a size equivalent to the full capacity of the housing due to the unique rocking movement afforded by the sloping curved surface of the press member.
In another embodiment, the handle is rigidly secured to the press member and has a planar stem portion having a length approximately equal to the length of the top surface of the press member and which extends through the slot in the upper wall of the housing. Fixed to the protruding end of the stem is a manually engageable portion having a length approximately equal to the length of the press member and which is bent or curved approximately at its midpoint so that the section of the portion lying over the leading edge of the press member extends at an angle away from the plane of the top surface of the press member. Thus, a user of the device can effect pivoting of the press member by rocking the manually engageable portion of the handle about the bent or curved section to bring the forward section of the handle portion into flush engagement with the top wall of the housing. The trailing section of the manually engageable portion of the handle will extend in a plane that is parallel to the plane of the top surface of the press member and thus serve to space the bottom of the press member a predetermined distance from the bottom wall of the housing when this trailing section of the handle engages the top wall of the housing adjacent the slot. The spacing or gap between the bottom of the press member and the bottom wall of the housing will serve to facilitate movement of the press member along the longitudinal length of the housing by permitting the collapsed portion of the tube to interfit through the clearance thus provided. As a consequence, the possibility of the press member becoming jammed between the guide shoulders and the partially collapsed or totally collapsed tube is eliminated. In addition, accurate control of the dispensing is assured by virtue of the limited pivotability of the press member which is dependent on the angle of bend between the forward and trailing sections of the manually engageable portion of the handle.